Coal-mining apparatus



p 3, I929. D. T. FISHER 1,726,891

COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYQSept. 3, 1929. F H R 1,726,891

COAL MINING APPARATUS Fi led June 8, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 WLKM Sept. 3,1929.

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D. T. FISHER COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1923.1zvllllllzllllllllzzzlll 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 3, 19 29. 11-11 FISHER1,726,891

COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 wgw BY 1/ I/ ITTORNEYS- Sept. 3, 1929.

D. T. FISHER COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ng as ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES.

DUDLEY T. FISHER, OI COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE JEFFREY MANUFACTUR-PATENT OFFICE.

ING COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

COAL-MINING. APPARATUS.

Application filed June 8,

This invention relates to mining and loading machines which are providedwith means for undercutting coal in its natural bed, means for breakingit down out of said bed, and means for loading it into cars by which itis removed from the mine, and especially to machines of that class inwhich the active elements move in a circular path substantially parallelto the curved face of themine room.

The principal object of the invention is to provide in a machine of theclass described improved means for breaking down the coal. Anotherobject is to provide improved feeding mechanism. Stillfurther objects ofthe invention are to provide certain improved features of constructionwhich will be fully apparent from the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings I have.

shown constructions which are intended to be merely illustrative of theinvention, and various modifications and changes can be made within thescope of the claims appended to the specification.

Of the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic general plan view of a mine roomin which mymachine is'working;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the forward part of the machinesomewhat more in detail than is shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the part of themachine shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4, is a sectional view taken along the line IVIV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5, is a side elevation, partly in section, of the rearward part ofthe machine.

Fig. 6, is a vertical sectional view of the.

machine taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3 show ing the breaking downmechanism;

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section of the machine taken on the line 7-7of Fig. 3, showing the driving connections;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the gearing by which the loadingconveyor is actuated;

Fig. 9 is a cross section on the line 9.9 of Fig. 5. showing theconstruction of the loading conveyor frame;

Like numerals refer to similar parts in the several figures.

This machine as an entirety is composed of four elements which arecombined to form a cooperative whole. They are the undercut- 1923.Serial No. 844,153.

ting mechanism, the breaking down mechanlsm, the feeding mechanism andthe loading mechanism.

The undercutting mechanism is of the well known chain cutter type andcomprises a chain 1, adapted to carry cutter bits 2, arranged to travelin a suitable groove formed in the edges of a cutter head 3. The chainis driven by a sprocket wheel 4 which is attached to the vertical headshaft 5 journaled in suitable bearings 6, -7, and 8 of the main frame ofthe machine. The head shaft 5 carries a master gear 9 which is driven bythe pinlon 1O fixed to the armature shaft of the motor 11. The cutterhead 3 is rigid with the base plate 12 of the machine frame, which isextended over the floor of the mine and into the kerf formed by thecutter head 3, to form a floor upon which the coal may fall when brokendown by the breaking down mechanism, and fromwhich it may be readilygathered by the loading mechanism as will hereinafter appear.

Supported bythemain frame of the machine is a secondary cutter head 13(shown in Fig. 6) having a cutter chain 1&1 adapted to form a kerfperpendicular to the inner end of the under kerf and substantiallyparallel with the face of the coal. The chain 14 travels over the edgeof the cutter head and is guided by chain plates 15 bolted thereto. Atthe upper rear corner of the cutter head 13 the chain 14 engages with adriving sprocket wheel 16 and at the two forward corners with idlersprockets 17, 17 which act to reduce the friction as the chain passesaround the corners of the cutter head. The driving sprocket wheel 16 iscarried by the inner end of the shaft 18 which is supported in suitablebearings 19, 20 and 21 secured to or formed on the member 22 of themachine frame. The shaft 18 has at its outer end a bevel gear 23 meshingwith a similar gear 241 on the cross shaft 25 which is journaled inbearings 26 and 27 of the machine frame. The cross shaft 25 is driven bya bevel gear 28 from a similar gear 29 carried by the vertical headshaft 5.

The cutter head 13 is composed of two parts 30 and 31, connectedtogether by suitable bolts 32 which pass through slotted holes in thecutter head parts to allow for adjustment by the screws 33 to regulatethe tension of the cutter chain 14 in a manner common to chain cutterheads. The part 30 is formed at 34 to conmovement between the wedgersand the cutter I 39 of the floor plate 12 to form a rigid structure ofsufficient strength to withstand the strains incident to the breakingdown of the coal.

Positioned on the outer face the'cutter head 13 are wedgingmembers 40,40, eachiof which has an eye for engagement with pro jectingtongues 41of'the part 'to form hinges which prevent relative longitudinal head.Connecting rods 42,42 are connected at their inner ends to the wristpins 43, 43 of the wedgers, and at'their outer ends to suit-I ablecranks 44, 44 by the rotation of which the w'edgers are oscillated todislodge the coal. The cranks 44 which are angularly displaced inrelation to each other, are attached to a crank shaft 45, supported in ajournal bearing 46 on the machine frame. The crankshaft 45 is driventhrough a spur gear 47 and a pinion 48 by the worm wheel 49 from theworm 50 mounted on the cross shaft 25 and a suitable clutch 48,controlled by the lever 49 is provided to control the actuation of thewedgers. The worm wheel 49 and the pinion 48 are carried by a shaft 51the machine frame. I

It will now be apparent that asv the machine advances across the faceof'the' coal,

' the cutter head 3 will undermine the coal, the

cutterhead 13 will form a kerf back of the face into which it will carrythe forward ends of the Wedgers 40, that the rotation of the cranks 44will oscillate the wedgers to pry out frag ments of coal which will fallupon the floor plate 12 to be gathered in the manner hereinafter setforth. As the cutterhead 13 bears against the wall of the kerf at 34 itwill afford a rigid abutment for the prying action of the wedgers toinsure the breaking of the coal without submitting the frame of themachine to unnecessary strain. Furthermore because of the angulardisplacement of the cranks 44, the breakers are moved outward againstthe coal one after the other andnot simultaneously so that the load isthrown upon the machine, keeping it at a minimum.

The machine is provided with a pivoting device by which it is limited tomovement in a circular path. This pivoting device comprises a pivot post53 securelyheld in position on the center line ofthe mine working, to

which is connected, for pivotal movement, a strut frame 54 rigidlyconnected to the flo'or plate 12 of the mining machine. Resting on therails 55 of the mine track are wheels 56 supporting a truck platform 57which supjourn'aled 52 on ports the pivot post 53. The upper part of thepost 53 is screw-threaded to cooperate with the hand wheel nut 58 toraise the sleeve 59, and With it the cap 60, to force the latter mentalong the rails.

The strut frame 54 is composed of angle bars connected together bysuitable cross members to form a rigid structure. Attheir inner ends theangle bars 65 are attached to a casting 66 bolted to the floor plate 12,and at their outer ends to a casting 67 on which is formed a sleeve 68journaled upon the post 53 and vertically supported by a shoul der 69thereon. The angle bars 65 are arranged to form guides for the endlesschain 70 of the gathering conveyor. The chain 70 carries laterallyprojecting scrapers 71 which travel along the trough 72 to propel thecoal th'erethrough. The bottom plate of the trough "72is bent upward andoutward to form flaring sides 73. At the outer end of the conveyor thechain 7 0 runs over a sprocket Wheel 74 journaled on the outer surfaceof the sleeve 68 concentric with the post 53. The sprocket wheel 74 isattached to the sprocket wheel '75 which is connected by the chain 76 toa sprocket wheel 77 on the ver tic-al head shaft 5 to drive thegathering conveyor. At the forward end of the conveyor the chain 70 runsover a sprocket wheel 78 journaled on a shaft 79 in the foot casting 80secured between the floor plate 12 and the flange 39 of the frame member37 by bolts 81. The holes through the casting 80 for the passage of thebolts 81 are slotted to admit of longitudinal adjustment to regulate thetension of the chain 70. Means for such adjustment are provided in theadjusting screw 82, which is threaded into the foot casting 80 and bearsat its other end in an aperture of the casting 66. A closed conduit 83is provided along the rear side of the strut frame to protect the returnstrand of the conveyor chain and flights from accidental contact withthe operator. The foot casting 80 is so positioned with reference to theother parts of the machine the scrapers 71 will reach'the extreme inneredge of the floor plate 12 to gather any coal which may fall thereon.

The loading conveyor is of the well known metallic apron type comprisingtwo similar endless chains 84 traveling over sprocket wheels 85 mountedupon the transverse idle head shaft 86 and over other sprockets S7 keyedto a transverse foot shaft 88, and connected together at every linkbytransverse overlapping plates or flights 89, so formed at their edgesas to allow free movement around the sprocket wheels and maintainsufficiently close articulation to prevent material from falling betweenadjacent flights. The chains are of the well known roller type, eachlink having a roller adapted to travel on suitable trackage surfaces tocarry the weight ofthe chain and flights and of the material carriedthereby.

The supporting frame work upon which this apron is mounted consists oflongitudinal angle bars 90 and 91 upon which the chain rollers travel,connected together by suitable transverse angle bars 92 and bysubstantially perpendicular angle bars 93 and 94. The angle bars 94 aresecured to the truck platform 57 in any preferred manner such as bybolts or rivets. The head shaft 86 is journaled in take up journal boxes95, supported on plates 96 attached to the longitudinal angle bars, toregulate the tension of the chains 84, by means of the screws 97 in themanner common tosuch journal boxes. The foot shaft 88 is journaled onpillow blocks 98 attached to the truck platform, and

carries on its extended end a spur gear 99 meshing with a pinion 100attached to an intermediate shaft 101 which carries a gear 102 engagingthe armature pinion 103 of the motor 104, by which the conveyor isdriven. A hopper 105 receives the coal from the gathering conveyor anddelivers it to the apron conveyor while side plates 106 prevent itsfalling off the sides. A car 107 may be placed below the rear end of theconveyor to receive material discharged therefrom.

Attached to each corner of the base plate 57 of the pivot truck areradially extending arms 108 which are connected at their outer ends tothe segmental curved rail 109 lying on the floor of the mine, concentricwith the pivot post 53. This rail is securely held in its relation tosaid pivot post by the arms 108 and suitable screw jacks 111 connectedto the ends of the rail and clamped between the floor and roof of themine. The screw jacks 111 may be of any of the well known constructionscommon in mine practice and need not be further described. The rail 109comprises a foot flange 112 adapted to rest upon the floor of the mine,a vertical web 113 having spaced apertures for a purpose which willpresently appear, and a head 114 adapted to the trackage of rollers 115mounted in brackets 116 of the machine, whose principal function is tomaintain the'vertical relation of the feed rail 109 and the'miningelements of the machine.

Journaled in suitable bearings 117 of the machine frame is avertical'shaft 118 to the lower end of which is fixed a sprocket wheel119 having teeth which engage theapertures of the web 113 of the curvedfeed rail. At its upper end the shaft 118 carries a worm wheel 120meshing with a worm 121 onthe outer end of a horizontal shaft 122. Theshaft 122 is journaled in bearings 123 and 124 of the machine frame, andhas at its other end a bevel gear 125 meshing with two bevel pinions 126and 127 mounted for free rotation on the vertical head shaft 5,Positioned between the bevel pinions 126 and 127 and slidable on asuitable key of the vertical shaft 5, is a clutch member 128 havingclutch jaws 129 and 130 engageable with similar clutch jaws 131 and 132on the pinions 126 and 127. A lever 128 is provided for shifting theclutch. By shifting .the clutch 128 into engagement with the pinion 126the bevel gear 125 will be rotated in one direction and by shifting theclutch 128 into engagement with the pinion 127 the gear 125 will berotated in the opposite direction. By this arrangement the sprocketwheel 119 may be caused to rotate in either direction at the discretionof the operator, and will, by its engagement with the apertures of thefeed rail 109 cause the machine to move about the pivot post 53 in thedesired direction. When the clutch 128 is in a central position andengages neither of the pinions, the sprocket 119 will not be rotated andthe machine will remain at rest.

It will readily now be seen that as the machine moves around the pivotpost the cutting and breaking .downmechanisms will be brought intocontact with thecoal, and break it'out of its natural bed, the conveyorswill gather it from the floor plateand load it into the cars which maybe placed in appropriate position to receive-it.

When a cut across the face of the coal has been completed, thefeedmechanism will be reversed to return the. machine to the place ofbeginning, the hand wheel 58 loosened to release the pivot post, thejacks 111 removed from the ends of the rail, the brake shoes 61 loosenedand the pivot truck with the post 53 and the feed rail 109 advanced anamount equal to the desired depth of undercut. The pivot post will thenbe readjusted, the jacks 111 reset and the operation repeated.

I am aware that it ha's'been heretofore proposed to construct machinessimilar in many respects to the one embodying my invention. Forinstance, it has been proposed to construct a machine adapted to travelparallelly with a coal face and having an under cutting mechanism, abackcutting mechanism, and a breakingdown device adapted to operate inthe'kerfcut by theback cutting mechanism. Bymyinvention, however, I haveprovided an improved means whereby the breaking down of the coal isefiected. 'It has also been proposed to provide a machine having anunder cutting mechanism, anda back cutting mechanism, and a centralpivot device about which the cutting mechanisms can swing. Bymy-invention, however, I have provided an improved anchoring means forthe pivot devices and an improved means whereby the machine can beswungabout the said pivot device. I

What I claim is 1. The combination in acoal cutting and breakingmechanism, of a main frame adapted to travel parallellywith a coal:face, a vertical kerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coalparallelto the coal face, a plurality of breaking devices located behindthe vertical kerf cutter in different elevations in the said verticalkerf, and means for moving the said breaking devices laterally one afteranother to break out the coal outside of the said kerf. v

2. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a mainframe adapted to travel parallelly with a coal face, a vertical kerfcutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coal parallel to the coalface, a plurality of breaking plates located behind the vertical kerfcutter at different elevations in the said vertical kerf, means forsupporting the forward edges of theplates for movement wabout verticalaxes, and means engaging the rear part of the plates for swinging themoutward one after another about thesaid axes into engagement with theouter kerf wall to break out the coal outside of said kerf.

3. In a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, the combination of a mainframe adapted to vtravel along the face of the coal, a kerf cuttermounted on the main frame in position to cut a horizontal kerf in thecoal, a vertical kerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coalparallel to the coal face, a plurality of movable breaking platesdisposed behind the vertical kerf cutter at different elevations in thevertical kerf, and means to move the break- ;er plates outward one afteranother to break the coal lying outside the vertical'kerf.

4. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a mainframe, means for guiding the frame in an arcuate path substantiallyparallel to a semi-circular coal face, power mechanism for moving theframe from one end to the other of said semi-circular path,a verticalkerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coal facesubstantially parallel to the coal face, a laterally movable breakingdevice located behind the vertical kerf cutter in the said vertical kerfand serving to break out the coal outside of said kerf, and power meansfor oscillating said breaking device. v

5. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a mainframe, means for guiding the frame in an arcuate path substantiallyparallel to a semi-circular coal face, power mechanism for moving theframe from one end to the other of said semi-circular path, a horizontalkerf cutter mounted to cut a horizontal kerf in the coal, a verticalkerf cutter mounted near the inner end of the said horizontal kerfcutter to cut a vertical kerf in the coal substantially parallel withthe coal face, a laterally movable breaking device located behind thevertical kerf cutter in said vertical kerf and serving to break out thecoal outside of said'kerf, and power means controllable independently ofsaid cutter for oscillating said breaking device.

face, a laterally mova le breaking device 10- cated behind the verticalkerf cutter in the said vertical kerf and serving to break out the coaloutside of said kerf, power means controllable independently of saidcutter to oscillate said breaking device, and a conveyer mounted on theframe and serving to remove the coal broken out by the said breakingdevice.

7. In a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, the combination of a mainframe adapted to travel along the coal face, means carried by the mainframe for cutting a vertical kerf parallel to the coal face, said meanscomprising an upright cutter frame and an endless cutter chain mountedto travel in vertical planes around the periphery of the cutter frame, abreaker plate'movably mounted on the cutter frame at points inside thecutter chain so as to enter the kerf formed thereby, and power means formoving the plate outward and inward to break out the coal outside of thesaid kerf.

8. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutterchain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enablematerial to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a memberdisposed to the rear of the advancing edge of said frame and movablewith the latter into the kerf formed thereby, said member beingpivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf, and means foroscillating said member to break out an increment as it is cut.

9. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutterchain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enablematerial to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a membercarried by said frame to the rear of the advancing edge thereof, saidmember being pivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf,and means for oscillating said member to break out an increment as it iscut.

10. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutterchain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enablematerial to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a rearwardlyextending lever fulcrumed on said frame for oscillatory movementtransversely of the kerf, means for oscillating said lever for exertingbreakingdown pressure on one of the walls of a kerf as it is cut, andabutment means carried by said frame adjacent the fulcrum of said leveradapted to abut the other wall of said kerf, for the purpose described.

11. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutterchain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enablematerial to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a pair ofmembers disposed to the rear of said frame and movable with the latterinto the kerf formed thereby, said members being pivotally mounted formovement transversely of the kerf, and means for non-coincidentallyoscillating said members to break out an increment as it is cut.

12. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutterchain on said frame, means for moving said frame to formsuccessivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine toenable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a pairof rearwardly extending members carried by said frame, said membersbeing pivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf, and meansfor non-coincidentally oscillating said members to break out anincrement at it is cut.

13. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutterchain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enablematerial to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a pair ofrearwardly extending levers fulcrumed on said frame for oscillatorymovement transversely of the kerf, means for noncoincidentallyoscillating said levers to exert breaking-down pressure on one of thewalls of a kerf as it is cut, and abut-ment means carried by said frameadjacent the fulcrums of said levers adapted to abut the other wall ofsaid kerf, for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

DUDLEY T. FISHER.

